As the holiday season arrives, the Massillon Museum’s History Discussion Group will talk about downtown Christmas traditions when it meets at 10 a.m. Dec. 3. Chris Craft will moderate the discussion.

HIGHLIGHTS

Reminisce about live pine street decorations and garlands with lights that draped over Lincoln Way through the downtown. Learn about the original designs that decorate our streets today. Talk about The Toy— the wonderful toy store on N. Erie Street. Discuss the electric trains sold at Happoldt Electric and later at Engelhardt Music. Did it take you all year to fill your Christmas Club savings book? What special Christmas promotions do you remember?

The History Group meets on the first Tuesday of every month 10 a.m. to noon in the Fred F. Silk Community Room in the museum’s lower level.

The museum is handicap accessible. The group chats casually about a pre-announced topic, usually a narrow segment of Massillon history. In January, the topic will be the history of local church buildings.

The “Massillon Remembers” group is free and open to everyone with a story to tell or an ear to listen. New participants are welcome at any time. Some people come to every session; others attend when the topic is of particular interest. No reservations are required. Coffee and doughnuts are available for a donation.

WHY YOU SHOULD ATTEND

The camaraderie and the memories keep people coming back to History Group month after month. The 2014 schedule of topics will be distributed at the December meeting. The meeting will be in Studio M, surrounded by the current show, which is artwork by U.S. veterans from Stark and Summit counties.